Civil Rights Investigator Jobs in Iowa (NOW HIRING)

Salary: $31.53 - $41.37 Hourly
Location : Davenport, IA
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number: 2000
Department: Civil Rights
Division: Civil Rights
Opening Date: 12/31/2025
Closing Date: Continuous
Union: Non-Bargaining
Definition
The Davenport Civil Rights Commission is the employer for this position.
Under the direction of the Civil Rights Director, responsible for managing a variety of administrative duties requiring knowledge and skills relating to fair housing investigation and enforcement; provide technical and administrative support for confidential and sensitive civil rights matters by conducting fair housing complaint investigations, and ensuring compliance with civil rights laws and regulations within the Davenport Civil Rights agency. This position conducts complex fair housing investigations and provides education to the community. Responsibilities include creating educational materials such as brochures, posters, flyers, advertisements, and other public or media communications; preparing reports for HUD; researching funding opportunities and tracking proposal deadlines; and writing, editing, and proofreading proposals and reports for corporate, foundation, and government funders.
Examples Of Duties
Fair Housing Investigations and Education:

• Conducts investigations of fair housing complaints, including interviews, research, and fact-finding.
• Educates the community on fair housing rights and policies.
• Develops informational materials such as brochures, posters, flyers, ads, and other media.

Civil Rights Complaint Management:

• Receives, investigates, and resolves internal and public complaints of discrimination.
• Applies current civil rights laws and policies to case facts, ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations.
• Maintains confidentiality of sensitive and confidential information throughout investigations.

Legal and Technical Support:

• Conducts legal research, interprets civil rights legislation and case law.
• Drafts findings, administrative rules, and recommendations.
• Provides technical support and guidance to commissions, boards, and the public regarding policies, procedures, and resources.

Reporting and Administration:

• Prepares reports for HUD, corporate, foundation, and government funders.
• Researches funding sources, proposal requirements, and submission deadlines; maintains report calendar.
• Monitors and oversees budget for state and federal contracts.

Community and Commission Support:

• Represents the Commission in public engagements, meetings, hearings and presentations.
• Provides updates and technical support to ensure community engagement and policy compliance.

Ongoing Professional Responsibilities:

• Stays current with civil rights priorities, legislation, and enforcement regulations.
• Successfully conciliates civil rights complaints and implements best practices in enforcement and education.

Qualifications
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Requires a bachelor's degree majoring in business, public administration, human services, social sciences, or legal studies PLUS two years of experience completing fair housing investigation reports, interpreting state/federal fair housing laws, conducting criminal or civil discrimination investigations into housing discrimination, analyzing and/or auditing organizational policies, investigating discrimination complaints, or any combination thereof; OR six years of experience completing fair housing investigation reports, interpreting state/federal fair housing laws, conducting criminal or civil discrimination fair housing investigations, analyzing and/or auditing organizational policies, investigating discrimination complaints, or any combination thereof.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
5-10 years of related professional experience working in fair housing law enforcement, with experience conducting civil rights investigations, writing reports of legal findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Experience working in local government serving racially and ethnically diverse populations in a predominantly white community.
Bilingual or multilingual fluency.
Knowledge and Skills
Comprehensive knowledge of fair housing laws, regulations, policies, and related state and federal programs.
Law and Government - Knowledge of local, state, and federal civil rights laws, rules, and regulations, court procedures, legal precedent, and executive orders.
Customer Service and Collaboration - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer services and collaborating with partners and leaders working toward goals and achievements. This includes needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of outcomes and satisfaction.
Organizational Systems and Structure Analysis - Knowledge of how systemic and structural policies and procedures impact outcomes; and skill at making recommendations to promote equitable and unbiased changes.
Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
Active Listening and Learning - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions; and figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Effective Communication Skills - Ability to communicate and mediate values and conflicts using knowledge of communication styles and learning techniques in a manner to promote understanding and useable information in the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Critical Thinking and Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem, thinking about the pros and cons, and picking the best options to solve a problem.
Social Perceptiveness and Monitoring - Understanding people's reactions; and tracking how well others are doing to make improvements.
Judgment and Decision Making - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning - Making or using general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information to solve problems.
Benefits for Full-Time Employees:

• Health insurance, including medical, dental, vision and prescription drug
• Pension
• 457 retirement plan contributions
• Retirement health savings plan contributions
• Flexible spending accounts
• Paid time off
• Employee assistance program
• Life insurance
• Long-term disability